Mike and Carol

Trying to attach a picture with the right aspect ratio....

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Just back from our first trip with the new truck. We did a long weekend in Fredericksburg, TX. Lot's to do there, more to follow. We traded in our trusty 2012 Tacoma on a new Ram 1500, 4X4, 5.7L Hemi, Crew cab, short bed. It's the Lone Star trim level, a Texas thing, that's the same as the Big Horn everywhere else. Main reasons for the change were the small gas tank on the Tacoma and the weight limitation. I wanted some specific features on the new truck for towing but didn't want to go through the wait of ordering - big gas tank, brake controller, and 3.92 rear axle. We found one a few hours away in the right color with all the electronic gadgets and doo-dads. It certainly feels like a big truck compared to the Tacoma. Quiet and comfortable. Bottom line, towing was much less effort than with the Tacoma (surprise!). I put it in "Tow/Haul" mode and let it do it's thing. It's only about 50 miles from our house to Fredericksburg, half freeway and half state highway. All hills, not much level road. Gas mileage was about 12mpg. Heading north on I-10W I kept it at 65 and on the state highway between 60 and 65mph. Hope to get better mpg on level ground. It maintained steady speed up all the hills. If in cruise control, the transmission would downshift on some of the downhills so braking was minimal (it has the 8-speed automatic). Speaking of braking, the brake controller is much easier to set and adjust over the Prodigy P3 that I had hanging under the dash on the Toyota. I also appreciate being able to have what it's doing displayed on the dash. Also, being able to check truck tire pressure, temps for oil, coolant and transmission is nice. Lots of information and data. All in all I'm happy with the switch. The only drawbacks so far are that it won't fit in the garage (yet) and it's not as easy to reach things in the bed. I did have to drop the ball on my Andersen hitch one notch and tighten the chains a couple of turns.

We ordered one of these and put it on the door of the fridge like Stan did and it is staying put. Just back from a trip and no signs of it coming off. Might get a second one to put on the pantry door. The only downside is that, at first, I was reaching for it to open the door of the fridge! Mike

I think that without the supercharger it would still be adequate but there would be significant slowing on hills. The supercharger adds 30% to both HP and torque. There is still the upper limit of 6500lbs with or without it. The new model Tacoma has a smaller V6, 3.5L, but increased power over the old 4.0L. It was really two things that got me looking at a bigger truck - fuel tank size and weight. As I look at making some trips out west, I don't want to be constantly searching for gas stations and worrying about tanks that should be emptied and cargo that shouldn't be carried. This was our second Tacoma, good reliable trucks that fit in the garage! I'm having to do some rearranging of garage cabinets to get this new truck in. Right now it lives in the driveway. Mike

We picked up our trailer in May and took 10 days to meander back to San Antonio. We towed with a 2012 Tacoma, TRD Sport, 4.0L V6, 2 wheel drive with the TRD Supercharger. HP is 306 and torque 320. We left Hohenwald and drove north to Land Between the Lakes on the KY side. We then drove west to Branson, MO and stayed at Table Rock Lake State Park. From there we went south into Arkansas to Crater of Diamonds State Park. Then, we headed west to Mother Neff State Park just south of Waco. Then we drove south to Boerne/Fair Oaks Ranch/home. There was a good mix of mountains (Ozarks) and flat land. We also had heavy rain and a very windy day. Mostly 2 lane highways, but a 35 mile interstate stretch and then Waco to home was US281 which is mostly 4 lane and 75mph speed limit. I kept my speed between 60 and 65. In all cases the Tacoma performed well. A couple of the climbs in the Ozarks resulted in speed drops from 60-65 down to 50-55. We pulled up most hills with no drop in speed (supercharger helped). As far as stability, the really windy day (north winds while we were driving west) required effort to stay in my lane. Semi's passing us on the interstate caused no issues. I know part of that is due to the stability of the Oliver. Braking was fine. My gas mileage while towing was 12-13 mpg. One tank was 11.3, but the others were in the 12's or 13's. Negatives: the gas tank is too small. After 125-150 miles I was at half a tank or below and looking for a place to fuel up. Also, knowing that we were at 80% of our weight limit I was always concerned with water tank levels and cargo. Not much room for increasing weight. Verdict: I would say the Tacoma is an adequate tow vehicle for the big Oliver. It should be a very good tow vehicle for the small Oliver. That being said, I did trade in my trusty Tacoma last week for a bigger truck. The Tacoma was 5 years old with 100K miles. Plus, I got bit by the new truck bug! We're going further up into Texas Hill country this weekend to Fredericksburg with the new truck. Will post impressions on the difference in towing between the Tacoma V6 and a big V8/bigger truck.

I agree with John. There are several good videos on YouTube that explain how the hitch works. Also, Andersen has videos there that show how to correct misalignment and how to replace parts. I watched Tommy and crew install the hitch on my truck and I asked questions. I don't think there is enough information provided on the day of pick up. The videos I watched before delivery helped. I have found that once the hitch is installed and adjusted it is very easy to take on and off by simply removing the pin and dropping the triangle plate - it's just a matter of knowing how to introduce some slack in the chains by raising the trailer.

I have not looked at that part of the hitch since we left the factory. I'm going to add that to the checklist. A visual check to ensure there are the same number of threads showing and that nothing has loosened or changed. Mike

Leigh, I will be interested in what the experienced folks have to say. I'm hardly one of them, but this is what I do. When I'm unhitching all I do is raise the trailer off of the ball another inch or so after it comes loose. By then there is enough slack in the chains to drop the triangle without messing with the red bushings. When it is time to hitch back up, it's just the opposite - after I get the hitch lined up, I raise the trailer until there is enough slack in the chains to reconnect the triangle plate. Lowering the trailer onto the hitch tightens the chains so I don't have to do anything to the red bushings. I don't know what would have caused yours to come loose. Maybe some of the more experienced Andersen users will have better information. Mike

Leigh, yes, we had four at Fall Hollow and one at the sales office (Steve and Tali in the Outlaw Oliver). Sounds like an unofficial rally. Glad you made it back to Maine. Our trip home was fun and a learning experience! Mike

Weyzer, welcome! This is a friendly and helpful group. South Texas is a long way from Maine, but it is on our trip list! We picked up May 10 and 11, I think we were neighbors at Fall Hollow the night of the 11th. Mike

We vote for Buzzy!

Steve, I stand by my previous suggestion that Oliver put you on their payroll! I also really like the propane tank mod, it makes a lot of sense. I'm always thinking about mods that would be good, you actually get the tools out and do it. Thanks! Mike

That's a great looking combination - like the blue!

Nice mods! Where did you put the additional two batteries? Also, wine glass security is important!! Mike

Bill, that's an interesting mod. We have a small portable table we use, but this seems a bit more efficient and convenient. Mike

Bill, I agree with your comments. We had the propane hatch added the day we picked up. I decided to add a white on-command hook to the right of the bathroom door for towels during showers. Some of these option should be listed so they could be included when ordering. I'm interested in the dimmer, would be a nice feature. Mike

....or, the gin and tonic!

I agree, there's a lot to learn and we have some real experts who readily share their knowledge! We've been okay with the standard shower head but will be interested in hearing how replacements work. The diverter/splitter sounds like an interesting idea - maybe easier than moving the shower head from the sink to the wall each time. Mike

David, that's good news. I'm going to check my manual tonight. If there are two HDMI inputs, then I can connect either my Apple TV or Amazon Fire directly. I just need to feed the cable down from the upper back storage area. We're going to do some things in the trailer this weekend, I'll add this to the list. Mike

Dave, we found the twin beds big enough. We didn't want the hassle of converting the table each night. The two seat dinette also works well for us. Our other considerations were access to the upper storage being difficult while in sleep mode and we liked having the nightstand. While watching TV we move the pillows to the opposite end and voila, we have recliners. We're happy with our decision, I think you will be too. Mike

While on our trip back from Tennessee we watched broadcast TV, watched a DVD, streamed MP3's Bluetooth and watched a Spurs game by disconnecting the Furion and replacing with the Apple TV. Those functions worked well. I'm also interested in the HDMI splitter and will be interested in how it works. Mike

Dave, I am trying to figure out the best solution as well. On our trip home we wanted to watch the Spurs/Thunder NBA playoff game (we are just a little bit San Antonio Spurs fans). The only way I could get it to work, since it wasn't broadcasted, was to hook up my Apple TV into the HDMI on the TV, which meant unplugging the Furion. I got the game on the ESPN app on my iPhone and streamed it to the Apple TV hooked up to the TV. I haven't had time to work on it, but I'm wondering what ports are on the back of the Furion. I'd like to hook up an Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV. Mike

FWIW, during our May 10 delivery Tommy ran through the functions of the A/V system which included using the four trailer speakers with the TV. No problems. It seems like it would be SOP for the technician who installs the A/V hardware to check the functions at the time of installation.

Dave, picked up last week. Towed from TN up to KY over to MO (Ozarks) down through AR, over to TX and down to San Antonio. 1000+ miles. 80% highway/secondary roads, 20% interstate. While on the interstates I kept it at about 65mph, other roads less. MPG was 12/13 per towing tank. My Tacoma is supercharged (306hp and 320ftlbs). It had plenty of acceleration - up hills and on interstate entrance ramps. I wasn't worried about that. My concern was stability and braking. We drove in heavy rain one day and in very high winds one day. The trailer never exhibited any bad behavior. Semi's passing on the interstate did not cause any white knuckle moments. I had one instance where I had to brake hard and my truck ABS kicked in but we came to a quick stop and apparently the brake controller and trailer brakes did what they were supposed to do. My conclusion is that the Tacoma is an adequate tow vehicle. Mine is almost 5 years old and has 95K miles. I'll be keeping it a while longer. When I replace it I will go with an eco boost F150 or big V8 Tundra. But that won't be for another year or two. I like being able to park it in the garage. A bigger truck will be in the driveway. Hope this helps. Mike